pelvic floor therapy for lower back pain Tag

Pelvic Floor Therapy and Lower Back Pain: Could the Two Be Connected?

Lower back pain has a frustrating habit of showing up when you least expect it. Maybe it starts after a long day at work, becomes noticeable when you bend over, or follows you through simple activities such as walking, lifting, exercising, or getting out of bed. Sometimes you treat the back itself with stretching, rest, or strengthening exercises, yet the discomfort keeps returning.

That can leave you wondering: What if the problem is not only in the back?

One often-overlooked part of the body that may contribute to how the lower back functions is the pelvic floor. These muscles sit at the base of the pelvis and work together with the abdominal muscles, diaphragm, hips, and lower back to provide stability and coordinate movement. When the pelvic floor is weak, overly tight, injured, or poorly coordinated, it may influence the way the rest of the body moves.

This does not mean every case of lower back pain is caused by pelvic floor dysfunction. Back pain has many possible causes. But for some patients, looking beyond the painful area can reveal an important part of the picture.

That is where pelvic floor physical therapy can become especially valuable.

The Pelvic Floor Is Part of Your Core

When most people hear the word “core,” they immediately think about abdominal muscles. You may picture planks, sit-ups, or other exercises designed to make your midsection stronger.

But your core is much more than your abs.

The pelvic floor forms the bottom portion of this deeper support system. Your diaphragm sits above it, abdominal muscles surround the front and sides, and muscles around the spine and pelvis provide support from behind. These structures work together to manage pressure and create stability as you move.

Think about picking up a laundry basket from the floor. Your body does not simply use your back. Your hips, abdomen, pelvic muscles, legs, and breathing patterns all participate in the movement.

When this system is coordinated, movement can feel effortless.

When one component is struggling, other muscles may compensate.

That compensation is one reason a pelvic floor problem can sometimes be associated with discomfort that appears somewhere else, including the lower back.

How Pelvic Floor Dysfunction May Affect the Lower Back

Your pelvic floor helps provide stability around the pelvis and works closely with the muscles responsible for supporting your spine. If those muscles are not functioning effectively, your body may alter its movement strategy.

For example, a person with reduced pelvic floor support may unconsciously rely more heavily on surrounding muscles to maintain stability. Someone with excessive pelvic floor tension may move differently because relaxing or coordinating those muscles is difficult.

Over time, these altered patterns may place additional demands on the lower back.

Thrive Physical Therapy describes the pelvic floor as part of the body’s core stabilization system, working alongside the abdominal muscles, diaphragm, and deep spinal muscles. Its approach recognizes that pelvic floor dysfunction can sometimes contribute to changes in posture, movement, and lower-back comfort.

The important point is not to assume that your pelvic floor is automatically the cause of your pain.

Instead, it is worth considering whether it could be one piece of the puzzle.

Weak Pelvic Floor Muscles Are Not the Only Problem

One of the biggest misconceptions about pelvic floor therapy is that treatment is always about making weak muscles stronger.

Sometimes strengthening is appropriate.

But sometimes the muscles are already working too hard.

A pelvic floor that remains tense or contracted may struggle to relax when it should. This can contribute to discomfort, poor coordination, and difficulty using the muscles efficiently. Thrive notes that pelvic floor dysfunction can involve muscles that are weak, tight, injured, or uncoordinated.

That distinction matters because treatment should not be based on symptoms alone.

If your pelvic floor is weak, your therapist may work on improving strength and control. If excessive tension is part of the problem, treatment may focus more on relaxation, mobility, breathing, and reducing unnecessary muscle guarding.

In other words, more exercise is not automatically better exercise.

The goal is to help the muscles perform the right job at the right time.

Why Traditional Core Exercises May Not Be Enough

If you have lower back pain, you may have already been told to “strengthen your core.”

It is reasonable advice in many situations, but it does not explain which muscles need attention or how they should work together.

You might be able to hold a plank but still struggle with pelvic stability. You might have strong abdominal muscles but excessive pelvic floor tension. Or you might have enough strength but poor coordination between breathing, abdominal pressure, and pelvic floor activation.

Thrive’s pelvic floor content emphasizes that core function is about coordination rather than simply having strong muscles. The pelvic floor, diaphragm, abdominal muscles, and back muscles need to work as a coordinated system.

This is why a personalized physical therapy evaluation can be more useful than simply adding another generic exercise to your routine.

The right question is not always, “How can I strengthen my core?”

Sometimes it is, “How is my entire core system working together?”

Lower Back Pain Can Be a Signal to Look at the Bigger Picture

Your lower back rarely works alone.

The hips, pelvis, abdominal muscles, legs, and spine all influence how you move. If one area becomes painful or restricted, another area may begin doing more work.

This can happen after an injury, during recovery from surgery, after pregnancy and childbirth, or simply as movement habits change over time.

Thrive highlights this whole-body perspective in its physical therapy approach. Its services include back pain therapy alongside pelvic floor therapy, hip pain therapy, knee pain therapy, neck pain therapy, sports injury therapy, chronic pain therapy, osteoarthritis therapy, and post-surgical rehabilitation.

That broader perspective can matter when symptoms overlap.

For instance, a patient may arrive because of back pain but also mention hip tightness, pelvic pressure, urinary leakage during exercise, or discomfort while sitting. Those details can help a physical therapist understand that there may be more going on than an isolated back problem.

What Symptoms May Suggest a Pelvic Floor Evaluation?

Not everyone with lower back pain needs pelvic floor therapy. However, certain symptoms may make it worth discussing with a qualified physical therapist.

You might experience persistent lower back discomfort together with pelvic pain, pressure, or heaviness. Perhaps you notice urinary leakage when coughing, sneezing, laughing, running, or exercising. You may have difficulty controlling your bladder or bowel movements, constipation, pain during intimacy, tailbone discomfort, or unexplained tension around your hips and pelvis.

Thrive also identifies lower-back, tailbone, hip, and pelvic discomfort among symptoms that may occur alongside pelvic floor dysfunction.

Again, these symptoms can have many causes.

The purpose of recognizing them is not to self-diagnose. Instead, they can be useful information to share during an evaluation.

Your therapist can then determine whether pelvic floor function, spinal movement, muscular weakness, mobility restrictions, posture, or another factor may be contributing to your symptoms.

Pregnancy and Postpartum Changes Can Make the Connection More Noticeable

For some women, the relationship between the pelvis and lower back becomes particularly noticeable during pregnancy or after childbirth.

Pregnancy changes posture, body mechanics, weight distribution, and the demands placed on the pelvic floor. Childbirth can also affect pelvic muscles and connective tissues.

After delivery, a woman may notice symptoms such as lower back pain, pelvic pressure, abdominal weakness, urinary leakage, or discomfort while exercising. These symptoms should not automatically be dismissed as something she simply has to live with.

Thrive’s pelvic floor services are designed to support women experiencing concerns related to pregnancy as well as pelvic pain and incontinence. Its educational material also discusses how pelvic floor dysfunction can affect active mothers who want to return to exercise and everyday activities.

The focus is not simply getting through postpartum recovery.

It is about helping your body function well enough for the life you want to return to.

What Happens During Pelvic Floor Physical Therapy?

The thought of pelvic floor therapy can feel unfamiliar, especially if you have never worked with a specialist before.

A good evaluation starts with understanding your experience.

Your therapist may ask about your symptoms, daily activities, exercise habits, pain patterns, bladder or bowel concerns, previous injuries, pregnancy history when relevant, and the activities you want to return to.

The physical assessment may look at posture, breathing, mobility, strength, movement patterns, and coordination. Depending on your individual needs, treatment may include therapeutic exercises, mobility work, manual techniques, breathing strategies, relaxation techniques, and education.

Thrive describes its broader pain therapy approach as combining personalized manual therapy, mobility work, strengthening exercises, and posture correction to help patients improve movement and function. Its pelvic floor therapy is similarly centered on restoring control, strength, comfort, and function according to the individual’s needs.

This individualized approach is important because two people can have similar back pain but completely different reasons for experiencing it.

Pelvic Floor Therapy Is About More Than Pain Relief

Pain relief is important, but it does not have to be the only goal.

Maybe you want to sit comfortably through your workday again.

Maybe you want to pick up your child without worrying about your back.

Perhaps you want to return to running, strength training, yoga, hiking, or another activity you have been avoiding.

Or maybe your goal is much simpler: getting through an ordinary day without constantly thinking about your pelvis or lower back.

Physical therapy can focus on those real-life goals rather than treating pain as an isolated number.

Thrive’s approach emphasizes personalized care and functional recovery, with treatment plans tailored to individual conditions and goals.

That can make rehabilitation feel less like completing exercises for the sake of exercising and more like rebuilding the physical abilities that matter to you.

Back Pain Therapy and Pelvic Floor Therapy Can Work Together

Sometimes patients think they must choose between treating their back and treating their pelvic floor.

They do not necessarily have to be separate conversations.

When the two areas appear connected, rehabilitation may address both. Improving hip mobility, strengthening appropriate core muscles, correcting movement patterns, working on posture, and addressing pelvic floor coordination can all become parts of a broader treatment plan.

Thrive offers both back pain therapy and pelvic floor therapy, allowing patients to receive care that considers how different parts of the body interact. Its back pain therapy specifically includes targeted manual therapy, core strengthening, and flexibility exercises based on the individual’s needs.

This integrated approach can be particularly helpful when your symptoms do not fit neatly into one category.

Listening to Your Body Can Be the First Step

Persistent lower back pain can make you feel as though your body is working against you.

But sometimes the body is simply asking for a different approach.

If stretching has not solved the problem, if your back pain keeps returning, or if you also experience pelvic symptoms, it may be worthwhile to look beyond the painful spot. The pelvic floor could be contributing to how your core and pelvis function, even though you feel the discomfort primarily in your lower back.

That does not mean you should assume pelvic floor dysfunction is responsible. It means there may be value in having the relationship between your pelvis, core, hips, and spine properly assessed.

A thoughtful evaluation can help replace guesswork with a clearer understanding of what your body needs.

Suggested Reading: Why Strength, Mobility, and Movement All Matter in Long-Term Pain Recovery

Conclusion

Pelvic floor health and lower back function are more closely connected than many patients realize. Because the pelvic floor works with the diaphragm, abdominal muscles, hips, and spinal muscles to support movement and stability, dysfunction in this area may influence how the lower back handles everyday demands.

If you are living with stubborn lower back pain, especially when it occurs alongside pelvic discomfort, urinary or bowel changes, hip tension, pelvic pressure, or movement difficulties, pelvic floor physical therapy may be worth discussing with a qualified professional. The goal is not simply to strengthen one muscle group or temporarily quiet pain. It is to understand how your body is moving and help restore better coordination, strength, mobility, and confidence.

At Thrive Physical Therapy, patients can access personalized physical therapy services that include Pelvic Floor Therapy, Back Pain Therapy, Chronic Pain Therapy, Sports Injury Therapy, Hip Pain Therapy, Knee Pain Therapy, Osteoarthritis Therapy, Post-Surgical Rehabilitation, and other specialized rehabilitation services. Thrive’s patient-focused approach looks beyond a single painful area to support meaningful improvements in movement, comfort, and everyday function.

If your lower back keeps telling you that something is wrong, it may be time to listen to the whole body not just the place that hurts.